Photo: Simen Løvberg Sund, The Royal Court
Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway attended a commemoration of the fall of the Berlin Wall while visiting the German capital during an official visit to the country.
The royals were in Bernauer Strasse on the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The wall that separated East and West Berlin fell on 9 November 1989 and finally reunited the city after decades of separation following World War II.
The Stiftung Berliner Mauer and the Evangelical Reconciliation Church host commemoration events twice a year at the Berlin Wall to “highlight the European and international dimension of the partition and the peaceful revolution,” according to the Royal Court.
The Crown Princess spoke at the event and of her memories of the reunification in 1989.
She said: “We will never forget the TV footage of thousands of people streaming across the border between what until then had been two separate worlds. People laughed, cried and hugged each other. There were strong feelings. And we, young people in Norway – and around the world – shared these feelings and this profound moment in history with them, with you. Freedom had triumphed, democracy had triumphed. We felt a strong sense of hope, of optimism. Fortunately, the Berlin Wall is now history. Following a peaceful revolution, Germany was slowly reunified as one country. Today, Germany is a guarantor of peace and freedom on behalf of the whole of Europe.“
Mette-Marit spoke of the Russian-Ukrainian War and the Israeli-Gaza War as well, remarking: “Once again, unfortunately, we have wars going on in our neighbourhood. We are devastated by the human suffering in Ukraine and in the Middle East. But we must not give up our hope in the power of the human will to resolve conflicts and tear down barriers. Standing here by the wall memorial today, we are reminded that the German people did just that. That gives us hope.“
She and the Crown Prince then laid roses in tribute on the wall. The royals then met Norwegians on a peace trip to Germany; around 20,000 Norwegian students go on peace trips to Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland.
Their Royal Highnesses met President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz after the commemoration.
The 9th of November is a special day in Germany as it marks the fall of the Berlin Wall and also the commemoration of Kristallnacht, which took place in 1939. Kristallnacht (or the Night of Broken Glass) was a riot against Jews and Jewish-owned businesses. Nazis shattered glass windows in synagogues and Jewish-owned stores and buildings. Over 7,000 Jewish businesses were destroyed and 267 synagogues.